Reunion
by Jewel08
Summary: When Erza defeats Jellal atop the Tower of Heaven, she couldn't have expected what he did next. And the truths he reveals will change the fate of Fiore.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey everyone! Yes, this is yet another story; I don't know why I'm doing this since Death's Mistake and A Change In Fate still need to be worked on... ah well. I'm sure you guys aren't complaining! This story was inspired, partly, by a story called Fallen Star, by Candles In The Snow, where Harry is Leo the Lion, aka Loke. But in this story, Harry is reborn as my absolute favorite character in this whole anime. (It's not Natsu or Leo, if that's what you're thinking.) I hope you guys like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Harry Potter; if I did, this story would DEFINITELY be canon!**

Chapter One

Erza pinned her old, former friend Jellal down with her body, straddling his torso with her legs. With her vibrant red hair hanging loose and the sword in her hand, Erza looked like an avenging angel, one ready to slit the blue-haired mage's throat. But instead of being uncomfortable, the man smiled, quite differently from just minutes ago.

"Thank you... Erza..." he whispered.

The Fairy Tail wizard nearly dropped her sword in shock, brown eyes widening. Why was he suddenly acting so different? "What do you mean?" Erza said harshly, not lowering her weapon.

"We don't have much time for me to explain, Erza," Jellal said. "Unless you want Ultear to kill us both?"

"Ultear? What does she have to do with any of this?" the redhead snapped.

"She's the one behind all this, right back to our childhood!"

Erza recoiled as if she had been physically struck, allowing Jellal to sit up. "What...? How could she have anything to do with... our past?"

Jellal's eyes were soft, Erza noticed; he was looking at her in a way that she hadn't seen since that awful day, when he banished her from the Tower of Heaven. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I truly am, Erza. I wasn't... in control of myself that day, and I'm still not. Not all the time, anyway."

Seeing Erza's frustration, Jellal held up his hands. "Didn't you ever wonder why my personality flipped so suddenly? Why I acted like such a horrible person and did all those things to you when before I wouldn't have dreamt of it?" When Erza nodded reluctantly, Jellal gave a humorless smile. "It was Ultear. She was there that day, and took control of my mind while I was weak. I didn't have the strength nor the time to fight her off all these years."

"But then... how are you in control of yourself now?" Erza demanded. Her sword rose again when she continued. "How do I know that you're telling me the truth?"

"I swear, on my Magic and my Life, that everything that I have said, and will say, to Erza Scarlet about my possession is the truth." Golden light, Jellal's magic, flared around him, sealing the vow. This time, Erza did drop her sword. Vows on Magic and Life were serious affairs; if Jellal should lie to her, even the littlest bit, his own power would kill him. "Ultear only mostly controlled me; there were periods, like now, where her attention and magic were diverted enough to allow me my freedom for short amounts of time. You can ask Wally, or Sho, or Simon. Even Miliana knows.

"And I'm grateful to them, for believing me. They didn't hold my actions against me when Ultear controlled what I did."

"..." Erza could only stare at her oldest friend, the one that had given her her last name. Even with the Vow, what Jellal was saying... could she believe him?

"Of course, I was always able to keep the information that would've trapped me forever away from her," Jellal said. "I... never told you, and I'm sorry about that."

"What did you keep from me?" Erza demanded. Her knuckles were white from how hard she was clenching her hands.

"This isn't the first life I've lived, Erza. What I know and can do could've handed Ultear the world. I would never have had a chance in Hell of getting away from her."

Erza gaped. What? She'd never heard of someone being reincarnated! And Jellal was saying that who he had once been was dangerous enough knowledge to doom the world?

"Who...?" she gasped. "Who... are you...?"

"I am Jellal Fernandes, member of the Magic Council by my Thought-Projection Siegrain, as well as puppet of Ultear Malkovitch. But I once was Harry James Potter, Saviour of the Wizarding World. And in both my past life, and this one... I am the Master of Death."

 **Didn't see that one coming, did you? The next chapter should be coming shortly. Don't kill me when it comes out alright? You need me to live so I can continue the story! As always, read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hi, everyone! I'm back! This story's got 20 favs and 24 follows, a lot more than A Change In Fate, which is four chapters long! Wow! I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Allons-y!**

Chapter Two

Seeing Erza's shocked look, Jellal smiled a little. "Erza?"

"What does that mean...? The Master... of Death?" Erza whispered.

"It means exactly how it sounds, Erza. It was my last life that I became the Master of Death, and it certainly wasn't intended." Jellal had a humorless half-smile on his face. "There was a legend in that world, called the Tale of Three Brothers. Only a few believed it was anything other than a bedtime story for children. The story went that three brothers, wizards, came across Death one night and avoided him. As a reward, Death granted them each one gift. The eldest, Antioch Peverell, asked for a wand that was more powerful than any wand before or since; the second brother, Cadmus, asked for a stone that would bring back the dead." Seeing Erza's flinch, Jellal continued, "The youngest brother was Ignotus, and he asked for a cloak that would hide him from even Death.

"Antioch was killed in the dead of night for the Elder Wand, as it came to be known, while Cadmus killed himself to join the girl he'd loved in death. The Ressurection Stone was passed through an ancient Wizarding Family for generations until I came to have it. And my own family, the Potters, were descended from Cadmus, and the Invisibility Cloak was handed down through the years. I claimed their allegiance, and I still have, even here in Fiore."

Erza noticed a symbol appearing amid the red tattoo on Jellal's face; right underneath his eye, in that little space, was a circle inside a triangle, run through the middle with a line. "That is the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, which is what the three items are when combined," Jellal said quietly. "Only those who know who I am can see it."

"..." Erza gave herself a little shake and stood, determined to get all the information she could. "Jellal... you can't have lied to me, due to the Vow, so I ask you now..." The red haired mage walked forward until she was right in front of her oldest friend and took his hand in her own. "Is it really you? The you I knew before?"

Jellal stared into her eyes, a dark, rich brown like melted chocolate. "Yes, Erza. It is me."

Erza only studied him for a few moments before sheathing her sword. "Very well then. Now, tell me what's going on with Ultear? What was she planning?" But she had a gentle smile on her lips, one that Jellal hadn't seen for years.

"Ultear means to resurrect Zeref, the Black Wizard, and the Tower of Heaven is one of the keys to breaking Zeref's seal. She's obsessed with him for some reason; she even pretended to be Zeref that day when she took control of me. I think that the R-System just has to be powered up to give her the key; that's the purpose of the Etherion blast. She and Siegrain, my Thought-Projection, would convince the Magic Council to fire one and thus doom us all."

Titania nodded slowly. "I see." The Tower of Heaven began to shake, the pillars smashing into rubble as they hit the ground. Erza wobbled a bit, and Jellal staggered. "Jellal!"

"It's Ultear," the bluenette said with a wince. "She's going to reassert her control over me soon. With my powers halved and not enough time to defy her, I can't stop her," he warned. "You'll have to defeat me."

Erza bit her lip, eyes uncertain. She didn't want to fight him! Not this Jellal, the one that she'd lost all those years ago! Erza didn't care if he was reincarnated into this life and held a title she didn't really understand; Jellal was her friend, the one who had shaped her life in so many ways, and she didn't want to lose him again!

Jellal embraced her, shielding her unarmoured body from the falling debris. Unseen to the Master of Death, Erza's cheeks reddened. "Hold on to me, Erza!"

0o0o0o0o0o

When the rumbling stopped, Erza opened her eyes slowly, and the first thing she saw was bright blue crystals, glittering and sparkling in a very menacing manner. The entire Tower of Heaven, she noted absently, was made out of _Etherion_ now. Yet despite its beauty, Erza shivered, feeling a sense of coldness and danger despite being... in Jellal's arms?!

The Titania leapt back, startled, falling onto her backside when she lost her balance. Jellal blinked, gold-green eyes surprised, before his lips turned upwards in a small smile. Erza blushed despite herself and got to her feet, as did Jellal. "So this is the R-System, fully activated?" she wondered, hugging herself to gain some warmth. "It's so... cold."

Jellal opened his mouth to reply, then staggered, letting out a small noise of pain. "Ultear... you won't... win... Erza... she'll stop you... I know it..." he muttered, almost snarling the words in his anger.

"Jellal!" Erza exclaimed. Her two double edged katanas appeared in her hands automatically, Erza knowing soon her showdown with the Ultear-controlled Jellal would begin.

"Don't hold back Erza, because he won't," the Wizard Saint said softly. "I know you can do it."

She had barely nodded when Jellal fell to his knees, teeth gritted and writhing in pain, the Deathly Hallows mark on his cheek flashing a dark, sickly yellow. And when he looked up at her, the gold-green depths were blank, with no personality or soul. Just Ultear's obsession with a man long dead.

Erza took a deep breath to center herself, then leapt forward with a battle cry.

 _I swear to you, Jellal, that I will free you from this! She won't get away with controlling you any longer!_

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Erza stared blankly into the cup of hot chocolate someone had shoved in her hands. They'd gotten back to the guildhall not too long ago, with two casualties. The redhead flinched badly when someone-she didn't know who-touched her shoulder gently, spilling the now-cold drink on the floor. Makarov stood in front of her, his expression grave as he looked at, in some ways, his most vulnerable S-Class wizard.

"What happened at the Tower of Heaven, Erza?" the Third Master asked quietly.

Her eyes stung and her throat seemed to have something stuck in it, but Erza took a breath and recounted everything that had happened, her mind flashing back to the short-lived fight between herself and Jellal...

 _Erza snarled, her eyes narrowed as she dodged Jellal's attacks. He smirked as he watched, an expression the red-haired mage well remembered. She had to wear him out, make him use up his magic energy, but he seemed very impatient. And there was one other difference that ultimately decided the outcome of their match: she was trying not to injure him, knowing that Ultear was behind everything he did. While he, on the other hand, had no such thoughts. Jellal was not against wounding her as long as he got his sacrifice._

 _One second of inattention, that's all it took, and when Jellal saw the oppurtunity, he used it. She collapsed, vision blurred and ears ringing, her two katanas clattering to the ground somewhere nearby. She choked on the debris that filled her mouth, trying to clear her head._

 _As the Wizard Saint approached, a wall of flame appeared, cutting off the two adversaries. Brown eyes widened as a familiar head of pink hair appeared, crouching over her protectively. "Natsu..." she whispered. "You made it... thank goodness you're all right."_

 _"What did that bastard do to you, Erza?" the Dragon slayer growled, eyes flashing. She reached up blindly and grabbed his arm. "No, Natsu. Jellal's not in control of himself. That councilwoman, Ultear, is controlling him."_

 _Natsu growled. "That won't stop me from kicking his ass!" With that, Natsu took Erza's place as Jellal's opponent, flying towards the controlled Master of Death with his fist on fire._

 _"Don't do it! Unless you want to kill me too!" Erza screamed. Her arms were outstretched, shielding Natsu with her own body. Jellal's eyes widened, sanity returning to them too late, his mouth shouting her name, but the spell was cast. The Heavenly Body Magic spell... Altairis. Erza shielded her face with her arms, only for someone to push her out of the way._

 _Simon stood there, arms outstretched, expression pained as he took a killing blow. Erza screamed, echoed by Jellal, when her friend fell. She scrambled over to his side, tears in her eyes even as she reached Simon._

 _"Simon!"_

 _"Erza... don't cry... I did something worthwhile... Jellal... don't let... that Ultear... control you any... longer... make... her... pay, Jellal, Erza. For tearing apart... our family."_

 _Natsu had thrown himself into the fight then, enraged that Jellal had killed one of his own friends. And the Wizard Saint... let him. The young man had fallen, his fighting just a token effort with no spirit or heart in it._

 _Erza had supported Natsu as the scales underneath his eyes from the Dragon Force vanished and his energy vanished. "We need to... get out of here, Natsu," Erza grunted. "You need to help me; I can't get us both out of here in time if you don't help me!"_

 _"Erza..."_

 _Looking behind her, the S-Class wizard saw Jellal stagger to his feet, his eyes once again free of madness. "Geez," Natsu muttered. "What's it gonna take for this guy to go down already?"_

 _"Natsu, shut up!" she hissed._

 _"I can get you two out of here," Jellal said. "It's the least I can do, after..."_

 _"But you'll die!" Erza cried. "If you stay here, you won't survive!"_

 _Jellal gave her a sad yet contented look. "Then so be it. forgive me, Erza." With that, the freed Wizard Saint lifted his hand and blasted the two Fairy Tail wizards with a strong air spell, strong enough to send them through the crystal walls of the Tower of Heaven._

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Makarov was deep in thought. "Hmmm... I've met the young Jellal a few times; he seemed like a good lad, very bright and eager to help, but other times I heard he was arrogant and almost cruel. I can't believe I didn't notice it before... he showed all the signs of magical possession..." he muttered, then cleared his throat. "Nonetheless, that was a very risky move for Jellal to do; those Vows are not done lightly. But I am glad he managed to save you and Natsu."

Erza nodded. "As... as am I, Master." She stood, putting the cup back on the bar counter and heading out the door. She needed to get to Fairy Hills before she could have any tears. Natsu followed her, waving aside any commands to get to the infirmary to get his wounds treated. "What is it, Natsu?" she snapped. "If you want to say how much you hate Jellal, I don't want to hear it!"

Natsu shook his head. "That's not what I wanted to say, Erza. I mean, sure I might not like him because he made you cry and he had that irritating little smirk on his face, but he means a lot to you. I see the way you look at him, and it's kinda obvious." The Titania grew red at that. Was she really so obvious that _Natsu_ noticed? "Well, I don't think he's dead. So if I ever meet him again, I'm gonna pound him into the ground for leaving you!"

Miles and miles away, in the depths of the sea, a blue-haired man's lips twitched upwards into a smile.

 **Before you guys riot, I wanted to clarify a few things: the tattoo on Jellal's cheek (at least in this fic it's a tattoo, I've read it could be a birthmark) is the perfect spot for the Deathly Hallows symbol to be. It can be seen only by people who know he's the Master of Death. Like a Fidelus Charm. And you might be mad that Erza lost so quickly against Jellal, but my reasoning is simple. Erza had been fighting that pink-haired woman (I can't remember her name right now) who _destroyed_ many of her more powerful armors, and then faced Jellal not half an hour later. **

**I did change Simon's last words, since he knows Jellal was being controlled by Ultear, and they didn't come out quite the way I wanted them to.**

 **I'm glad you guys have liked this story of mine so much; who wants to see Jellal get what he really deserves? I DO! This is kinda like my 'fix-it' fic; I'm changing what happens to Jellal because I don't like what canon did to him!**

 **Anyway, I'll be uploading the new chapter as soon as I can, along with other chapters for other stories (*cough* Deathg's Mistake maybe *cough*) so I'll see you guys later! Don't forget to review! ME LIKE REVIEWS! THEY CANDY!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey everyone! Wow, the favs and follows of this story have DOUBLED since last chapter! *squeals* I LOVE ALL OF YOU! Thank you for all the lovely reviews I've gotten as well, along with your patience for this chapter. I know it's been a while, but hey, what can I say?**

 **You know, I was thinking (scary thing, I know)... Shawn Mendes's song 'Stitches' is PERFECT for Jellal and Erza, as well as 'Dark Horse'. There are some really good Jerza videos on YouTube using those songs. What songs do you guys think fit them?**

 **Now, on with the show! I can't wait to bend Fairy Tail canon to my whims! *rubs hands together like a typical villain* Hee hee hee...**

Chapter Three

Erza recovered from her physical wounds easily enough, but it was the emotional wounds that were lingering. The wounds of Jellal's betrayal when they were children was finally healed with the truth of his possession by Ultear, and Sho, Milliana, and Wally's leaving also helped the lingering scars from the Tower of Heaven itself.

But Jellal's final words, as well as the look in his eyes when he saved her and Natsu, seemed to echo in her head, tormenting her. She tried her best to soothe those memories and lay them to rest, but one factor kept that from working completely.

Jellal wasn't dead.

Of course, there was no proof (even though no body was ever found for either Jellal or Ultear), but it was just a gut feeling she had. And those normally tended to be right.

 _When I find him_ , she promised herself, clenching one armored-covered hand. _When I find Jellal and finally prove whether I was right or wrong, then I can finally heal for good._

Erza went on normal activities: going on jobs, accepting S-Class Quests, eating delectable strawberry cake, and trying to relax when she could. But despite her efforts, the rest of Fairy Tail remained worried for their Titania.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I'm worried about her," Lucy said.

The rest of Team Natsu were sitting at the bar eating some food while Erza picked a job for them all.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked. Natsu perked up a little, dark eyes narrowing a little.

"Ever since the Tower of Heaven, and what happened with Jellal, she still hasn't recovered. Not completely," Lucy explained. "Maybe we should do something."

Natsu shook his head. "i don't think that'll work, Luce."

"Yeah," Gray said. "Flamebrain's right, for once. Erza hasn't given up hope that Jellal's still alive. And until she's proved right or wrong, the only thing we can do is try to be there for her."

"What d'ya mean, for once?!" Natsu shouted. And with that, Natsu and Gray started another of their brawls, fists and clothes flying every which way. All while they screamed insults at each other like children. Lucy sweatdropped. "And here I thought they were being mature for a change..."

"Enough!" Erza shouted. She rammed the two boys' heads together, reducing them to a quivering mess. And Lucy just shook her head at the insanity of her team as Erza lectured the two.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Then came the next big hurtle for Fairy Tail. And that obstacle was one word.

Laxus.

Grandson of Master Makarov, Laxus had been angry at how things had been going for the guild for a while now, until finally his anger snapped. He made each guild member fight each other after having one of the Thunder Legion, Evergreen, turn some of the girls to stone, including Erza, Lucy, and Levy. Erza, of course, eventually broke free and defeated Evergreen, releasing the other girls from the curse of stone.

The girls went their separate ways to try to help, while Levy stayed behind to free Natsu and Gajeel from one of Freed's enchantments that trapped them at the guildhall. And once the two dragon slayers were free, the real action began.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Erza and Natsu eventually tracked Laxus's location to Kardia Cathedral, where the Lightning User was battling a dark, cloaked figure.

"It's Mystogan," Erza said. Her fellow S-Class wizard hardly ever showed himself, and the Master was the only one to have seen his face. But in Mystogan's moment of distraction, Laxus destroyed the cloth and hat hiding his features from view.

Erza felt her heart turn to ice.

Shaggy, light-blue hair, gold-green eyes, and a red tattoo above and below his right eye.

"So you're saying Mystogan... is really Jellal?" Natsu asked.

"J-Jellal...you're alive?" Erza stutters, tears gathering in her eyes. Her hands start shaking, but it's more than just shock or relief that the man she loves is _standing right there_. It's because those eyes she loves so much... hold no love for her. He knows her, but from his eyes, it's like she is only his guildmate. Nothing more.

"Erza, I'm sorry," Mystogan said. He looked away. "I never wanted you to see this. I know of your friend Jellal, but... I'm not him."

Erza stumbles back a few steps. He's... not Jellal? But why does he look so much like him? Like his twin? Why did Mystogan hide this from everyone?

"I must be going. There's nothing more I can do now, so the rest... is up to you." With that, Mystogan fades away, a little tendril of smoke floating away on the breeze.

A lone tear snakes its way down Erza's cheek.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Once all of them are recovered from that ordeal, there is a short period of relative peace and calmness. Erza goes on, trying her hardest to act natural, but in the back of her head and heart, the mystery of Mystogan and the chance of Jellal's survival ate away at her. But still, she tried to not let it affect her overly much. There wasn't much else.

Then, worrisome news. One of the three major Dark Guilds, the Oracion Seis, was becoming a major threat. They were reportedly looking for something, not caring what or who they destroyed while doing so. And because of that, four Light Guilds were assembled in an alliance of their own to combat them. It was Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and the relatively-unknown guild Cait Shelter.

Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Lucy would be heading to the rendezvous spot together, since they were the strongest team Fairy Tail had.

"We can't let the Oracion Seis succeed in whatever they're planning," Erza muttered. "There's no telling how much destruction they could cause!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Erza looked around the building. Their group from Fairy Tail, and then there was a group from Blue Pegasus. Led by a troll named Ichiya. Erza punched him clear through the building when he tried to hit on her, calling her, "my sweet honey". Much to the surprise of Lucy and Happy.

"Hands off, Ichiya!" Erza yelled. "There's only one man I love, and YOU'RE NOT HIM!"

"Man!" Ichiya wailed pitifully.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The time passes in a blur. The groups from Lamia Scale and Cait Shelter. Meeting the Oracion Seis. The magic bomber Christine falling to the ground. The fight. And then that damn snake bite. As soon as her arm became numb, Erza knew. _That damn snake is poisonous!_ Natsu refusing to take her arm off, and then the all-consuming blackness of unconsciousness.

 _If this is death, will I see you again, Jellal? After all, you said you were...Death's Master._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Wendy was kidnapped. Brain took her. Erza was bitten by Cobra's snake and dying. Wendy was the only one who could save her.

 _I have to find Wendy!_

Not only for her Sky Magic that could heal, but because she was the Sky Dragon Slayer. Natsu needed to talk to her about it!

And finally, they found her. It was a cave, and inside there was some candles and a huge, metal, cross-shaped coffin laying on the floor. The leader of the Oracion Seis, Brain, turned a little and smirked at them, his eyes cold and wicked. Wendy was kneeling, tears streaming down her face and arms shaking. "I'm so sorry!" the Sky Maiden whimpered. "Forgive me!"

But it was the figure in the middle that grabbed Natsu's attention. Light-blue hair, and a purple sleeveless shirt with dark blue cargo pants. Then the man turns, exposing blank, gold-green eyes and a crimson-red tattoo.

" _Jellal!_ "

 **Yeah, you guys might not like it as much, but this is a necessary chapter. And Jellal's retaking the main character spot next chapter! Squee! I'm not sure when the next chapter'll be here, but probably soon. I've gotten back into my obsession with Fairy Tail, so that's what finally motivated me to get off my butt and update. Hope you guys like it!**

 **Read and Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Ummm... I was a bit longer coming out with this chapter than I thought I'd be... My Fairy Tail obsession didn't last very long, since I got sucked right back into Final Fantasy VII. That being said, there is no excuse as to why I left this story alone for as long as I did. I hope you guys forgive me. But still, Jellal's retaking his spot as main character! Let's get on with the show!**

Chapter Four

For a few moments, all that Natsu can do is stare at Jellal. Wendy scrubbed at her eyes, sobbing all the while. "Please, I'm so sorry! I-I _owe_ him!" The little girl trembled, eyes fluttering shut, and she fell, like a leaf, to the ground at Jellal's feet. The blue-haired mage knelt, checking over Wendy in a hint of concern. Then, the pink-haired Dragon Slayer summoned some of his flames and rushed towards the other mage with his fist on fire. "What are you doing here, Jellal?!" he roared.

So engrossed was he in getting answers- _of beating it out of the blue-haired wizard_ \- that Natsu didn't notice how Jellal's eyes changed.

Jellal's head turned, gold-green eyes narrowed and still somehow blank, and his right hand raised up. Bright, golden light assembled in his palm and was fired at the incoming Dragneel. Natsu was blasted into the cavern wall, letting out a short, pained cry, and was soon almost entirely buried under the rocks. Brain gave a chilling smirk and walked up beside Jellal, satisfied that the man was fine after being in a coma for some time. "Hmm... Thankfully your condition hasn't diminished your power at all..."

The Master of Death half-turned to face Brain, the Deathly Hallows symbol flashing an ugly red in anger and expression still utterly blank, and raised his arm sharply. Gold light flared, and suddenly the leader of the Oracion Seis was trapped in a deep hole, unable to move or use magic due to his surprise. Happy ran over to his partner, tears in his eyes from all the things that had gone on so far today, hoping that Natsu wasn't seriously hurt.

Jellal's footsteps grew louder, and he passed by Happy without even a glance. The blue cat watched him go, confused and scared, until the rubble shifted and Natsu's noticeable pink hair popped up. Natsu shook his head, eyes wild, and he yelled, "All right! Let's rock! Bring it on!" Seeing that Jellal was nearing the entrance of the cave and didn't even give them a backward glance, the Dragon Slayer jumped to his feet. "Come back here, you coward!"

That jerked Jellal to a stop at once, one foot still in the air as he was about to set it down. Then the man turned, gold-green eyes finally showing an emotion, the first since he'd woken. " _What_... did you call me?" the Master of Death growled.

(Long-gone that life may be, but Jellal-Harry had never _completely_ lost the courage and recklessness that he'd once had. The Gryffindor Lion in his chest roared its anger at the word Natsu had called him, demanding retribution for the hated slight.)

Natsu stood, baring his own impressive set of teeth. "You heard me! Come back here and face me like a man, not some coward!"

Jellal snarled, eyes narrowed and looking more green than gold, until Carla broke into the conversation impatiently. "Stop this at once! I expected better from you, Dragneel, and _you_ -" Jellal blinked in surprise, gold once more bleeding into his eyes, "-we have more important things to do than stand around here while you two fight!"

"..."

Jellal opened his mouth to say something, but Carla interrupted. "Now, can we _please_ get out of this awful cave? At least before that awful man digs himself out of that hole."

Natsu picked up Happy and Carla while Jellal picked up Wendy. He moved some of the girl's dark blue hair out of her face absentmindedly and turned back to the cave entrance. Once they were out in the open air, Natsu planted his fists on his hips while Carla and Happy stood at the Dragon Slayer's feet. "Now, are you gonna explain what the hell that was in there?"

Jellal didn't say anything for a few minutes, just looked at Natsu intensely. "..."

"Come on, man! Say something!" Natsu said.

"...Who are you?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Of all the things Jellal to say, Natsu thought dazedly, he never expected something like _that_. The Dragon Slayer was so stunned that he couldn't think of anything to say; Natsu just blinked with his mouth hanging open. Happy finally said something, though. "Whaa? What do you mean? You don't remember _Natsu_?" Jellal shook his head.

Natsu finally managed to say, "What about Erza?"

Instantly Jellal's entire expression changed. Well, maybe not _changed_ , exactly, but his eyes softened, and his mouth turned up into a smile that Jellal didn't even notice was there. Warmth, light, happiness, and love washed over Jellal when he heard that name... Even though he didn't know who 'Erza' was, he knew without a doubt that he loved her.

"...Only that name," Jellal finally murmured. "I only remember that name, nothing else. I... I don't know who I am, or where I came from. Can you tell me? Do you know? At least tell me who Erza is!" Jellal looked up into Natsu's eyes, pleading. "Please, if you know you have to tell me!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Natsu just stood there, unsure of what he should do now. Jellal was here, alive, but without any of his memories except for Erza's name. Could he even still use his magic if he didn't know how?!

But... then there was the Master of Death's plea. Did Natsu even have the right to tell him about the Tower of Heaven? Ultear's manipulations and control over him? His title as Master of Death, which only Erza and Jellal himself knew details about? Sure, Erza had mentioned it in passing, but even Master Makarov didn't know much more than the rest of them! ('It's Jellal's secret to tell,' Erza had told them sternly. 'I won't say much more than that and betray his trust.') How would he even begin this?!

"I-I'm not sure I'd be the best person to tell you stuff," Natsu began haltingly. "Erza knows a lot more than any of us, but she's been poisoned. Wendy's the only hope she has if we can get her there in time."

Jellal's eyes harden as he connects the dots: that Erza is _dying_ , and that the little girl in his arms is the only hope they have right now. "Where?"

Natsu's mind stutters to a halt as he realizes... _he doesn't know where Erza is from here!_

The other man must've seen Natsu's panic and known what it meant, since he sighed. But before the blue-haired mage could say anything, Hibiki's voice rang out of thin air. "Natsu!" Natsu fell over as he tried to turn too fast, and Jellal tightened his grip on Wendy, who still hadn't woken.

"Who are you?" Jellal roared. (Instincts of a time long past are hard to break, after all; fighting and curses and spells that can kill with just one hit don't make more a restful sleep, and anything unfamiliar is treated with suspicion and low-level hostility. 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!', Moody roars.)

"Natsu?" Hibiki asked in confusion. He shared a look with Lucy, who looked horrified, surprised, and disbelieving all at once. "Who is that?"

"It's... it's Jellal."

Lucy gasped, hands flying up to her mouth. Hibiki made a strange, choking noise and nearly lost the telepathic connection in his shock. "Jellal Fernandes?" the Blue Pegasus wizard managed to say. "The man who made the Tower of Heaven and destroyed the Magic Council?"

In the forest, Jellal staggered, almost losing his grip on Wendy and sinking to his knees. "What?" he rasped. "I...I did that?"

Natsu glowered darkly at the surrounding trees like they were Hibiki. "That wasn't his fault, jerk!" he yelled. Jellal looked at Natsu, wondering why in the world this stranger (not a stranger, _forgotten_ , someone Jellal _knew_ and _trusted_ even if only a bit in the first category) would defend him if all those terrible words, the accusations, were true. "Erza believed in him, and she's believed that he was alive this whole time! She said he'd been controlled by that councilwoman, U-Ul-"

"Ultear," Lucy supplied, still trying to recover from the shock of discovering that Jellal (Oh God what will Erza think when she wakes up?) was still alive, just like the Titania was always insisting. Erza twitched a little, eyelids fluttering just a little bit. (Even badly poisoned as she was, the Titania _hated_ the mention of Ultear's name; it would be a _long_ , _long_ time before Malkovitch was forgiven, if at all.)

Hibiki was silent, thinking over what Natsu and Lucy were insisting. Then he cleared his throat. "You guys need to hurry. We don't know how much longer Erza can hold on. I'm downloading directions to our locations to your minds." A few taps of fingers and it was done.

Jellal and Natsu could tell that Hibiki had disconnected his telepathy, they couldn't sense him even a little bit. Natsu looked over at the blue-haired wizard and said, "Do you think you can use one of your spells to get there? It'll take me a bit longer, and Erza really needs help." In other words, could Jellal remember how to use specific spells or just lash out like he had at Natsu and Brain in the cave?

Jellal closed his eyes and tried to remember any spells that he might have once had. A spell for going fast? After a few minutes, something clicked in the depths of his mind. A spell of the stars, the speed of a-

"Meteor!"

Natsu jumped back as Jellal blasted off to where Hibiki and Lucy were waiting, surrounded by the familiar golden glow of his magic. "Heh. Guess he can remember spells."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It was absolutely exhilarating to use the Meteor spell. Jellal couldn't tell exactly what it was, but he loved the felling of the wind in his hair and the thrill of going so fast that his surroundings were nothing but blurs. If Wendy hadn't been in his arms, he would've tried a few tricks.

Wendy stirred in his arms, and Jellal increased his speed. Hopefully, even though so short a time passed since the girl had healed him, Wendy would have the strength and magic energy to heal Erza.

Hibiki and Lucy jerked to attention as a glowing figure skidded to a stop in front of them, Wendy in his arms. Neither Hibiki nor Lucy had seen Jellal in person (only Natsu, Lucy, and Master Makarov had) and they were reminded just why he had been nominated, as Siegrain, as a Ten Wizard Saint. Jellal seemed much more dangerous than he appeared, with a noticeable aura curling around him. Wendy stirred again, and Jellal gently set her down on the grass. He then gripped her shoulders and gently shook her.

"Wendy, wake up," Jellal commanded.

Wendy's eyes fluttered open, and she blinked a few times before seeing who was in front of her. The Sky Dragon Slayer let out a short scream and tried to scuttle backwards, but Jellal caught her arms and held her still. "Wendy!" he said a little sharply. "Clam down, no one's going to hurt you." Wendy blinked, mouth open in surprise.

"Wendy!" Lucy called. Wendy looked at the Celestial Spirit Wizard, eyes wide. "Lucy?"

Then the young girl's eyes dropped down to Erza's unmoving form; the glittering, purple poison had already reached down to her hand, and it was obvious that even the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail would not be able to hold out against the snake poison for much longer. "How did Erza get hurt?" Wendy asked in concern.

"She was bitten by Cobra's pet snake," Hibiki said solemnly. Wendy's eyes widened.

"Please, Wendy..." Wendy looked over and saw Jellal, looking more vulnerable than she had ever seen him. "Please save Erza."

After a few seconds of looking uncertainly at Jellal, Wendy nodded. Hands glowing blue with Sky Magic, Wendy knelt at the redhead's side and concentrated on expelling all the venom in the older young woman's system. It only took a few seconds, and when she was done, Wendy turned to the others and wiped a hand across her forehead, giving a smile so that the others wouldn't notice how tired she was. "I got rid of all the venom. Now all we have to do is wait, and she should wake up soon." Everyone gave out yells of happiness, and Jellal laughed in relief.

"Thank you, Wendy."

Natsu finally arrived in the clearing, Happy and Carla unconscious in his arms, and after he set them down gently on the grass, the Dragon Slayer walked over and asked what was going on. Lucy just pointed to Erza's now-healed arm, still too happy for words. Natsu let out a happy shout and high-fived Wendy. "You're awesome, Wendy!"

Then Hibiki and Lucy turned to Jellal, expressions becoming very serious. "Are you going to explain things now, Jellal?" Hibiki asked.

Jellal fidgeted a little, but before he could say anything, Natsu, surprisingly, tells the others what's going on. "Guys, Jellal's lost his memory! And I think we should at least wait until Erza wakes up."

And with that, the small group settled down to wait for the Queen of the Fairies to awaken.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: *Sigh* When will I get more reviews? Oh, when, when, when... There was a little mistake last chapter: Erza, Natsu, Wendy, and Makarov have seen Jellal in person before; Lucy and the rest have only seen images of him (I forgot about that magazine Lucy has in Episode 2: Jellal's picture's in it). So I managed to confuse even myself last chapter!**

 **Still, I hope you read and please please please give me some reviews!**

Chapter Five

Jellal felt very nervous, waiting for Erza to wake up. Hopefully she'd know more about what Hibiki mentioned earlier (destroying the Magic Council, being made a slave by someone named Ultear), but what if he didn't like what she'd reveal? What if... he had done those things of his own will? No; Jellal shook his head firmly. Natsu wouldn't have defended him if he had been truly guilty.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Erza's eyes fluttered open. She sat up slowly, stifling a groan and holding a hand up to her head. Jellal stayed back a little bit as Natsu, Lucy, and Hibiki swarmed her. Wendy stayed back by his side, looking very nervous and unsure, like she didn't know if she was welcome to join in.

Erza simply gave a smile at her guildmates and Hibiki, even though she couldn't hear anything over them. With a thought, she Requipped out of her Flight Armor and into her usual Heart Kreuz. Then she stood, albeit still a little shaky, and dusted herself off before turning to Wendy. "Thank you, We-" the Titania started to say, but that was when she finally noticed Jellal.

Erza's brown eyes widened, and her mouth opened in shock. "J-Jellal...? Y-you're..."

Looking at her now, Jellal felt the breath catch in his throat. She was so much more beautiful than he'd first thought. His gaze focused on her beautiful scarlet hair that tumbled down her shoulders and ended a little below her waist. Her brown eyes were light and shiny with the tears that began to fill them.

"Erza..." he finally said.

Without any warning, Erza ran toward him, expression twisted with some unidentified emotion, and her body slammed into Jellal, arms wrapping around him in a tight embrace. Surprised, Jellal embraced her in return without even realizing it. Then the touching moment was over when she punched him in the head, eyes glowering at him. "Ow!" he yelped. "What the hell?!"

"You idiot!" she roared. A lone tear snaked down her cheek as she continued. "You could've died from that much etherion, you stupid moron," Erza choked out. "Why did you do it?" She thumped her fist lightly on his chest. "I-I might not have ever seen you again, Jellal."

"Because I would gladly die for you," Jellal whispered, the words slipping out of his mouth before he realized what he had just said. "You mean everything to me, Erza. Even if I don't remember why."

Then Erza took a step back, eyes wide and surprised. "What?" she asked.

"His memory's gone, Erza," Natsu said. "He can't remember anything but your name." Wendy looked shocked and guilty, and Lucy put a hand on the young girl's arm to comfort her. Jellal nodded, telling Erza that Natsu was right.

"But what do we do now?" Lucy asked. When everyone looked at her, the blond went a little pink but continued. "The Oracion Seis are all still out there! And do we even know what they're after?"

"Nirvana," Jellal said. "It's something called Nirvana."

Erza looked at the blue-haired wizard in surprise, as did Hibiki. "How do you know, Jellal?"

Jellal looked annoyed as he tried to explain. "That was another thing that I knew when I awoke. It was Brain's voice, saying, 'I must have Nirvana'. And, for some reason, I know exactly where to find it."

Hibiki's eyes widened, and he immediately called up his Archive Magic to see if he could find anything related to this 'Nirvana'. It could be a dangerous and powerful artifact, or maybe a code name for a person. What if... what if the Black Wizard Zeref had made it? The Blue Pegasus wizard paled at that thought and shuddered. He'd heard about that Lullaby incident from Master Bob, and if Nirvana was possibly made by Zeref... that was too horrible to think about.

"Why would you know that?" Natsu asked. Erza raised an eyebrow. "Did you forget already, Natsu? Jellal was a Council member as well as a Wizard Saint. And as such, Jellal had access to a lot of information that other wizards don't. And ever since we were children in the Tower of Heaven, Jellal has always had an interest in arcane and ancient knowledge."

Natsu had to concede the point. He may not be intelligent in the way Levy was and could be dense some of the time, but Natsu was smart in his own way. He knew very well that it wasn't just how much magic power he had that made Jellal so dangerous; it was the sheer _knowledge_ of magic the slightly older man possessed. If Jellal hadn't been fighting against Ultear's control, if he had actually _wanted_ to win that fight, and if Natsu hadn't thought of eating that Etherion for a power boost (though he had regretted it later when he ended up really sick), the Wizard Saint probably would've ended up winning that fight.

"I think we should still head there," Jellal said. "Brain wanted me revived so that I could lead him and the Oracion Seis to Nirvana; I can just as easily lead our group to its location. And we can dispose of anyone tailing us."

Erza, Natsu, and Lucy look at each other, communicating silently about whether they would do it or not. Hibiki continued tapping away on the Archive keyboard while Wendy stayed close by Jellal's side, looking a little uncomfortable.

Finally, Erza nodded. "I believe that would be the best course of action for now. But we will need to keep an eye out for the Oracion Seis, especially the one called Cobra."

"You mean the one who injured you?" Lucy asked. Jellal's eyes narrowed. _He did what?_ "Why?"

Erza looked disgruntled. "He can hear our thoughts; that's why I had such trouble with him. Brain might send him to follow Jellal." Lucy nodded in understanding.

"Let him try," Jellal muttered darkly. "I doubt Cobra could take all of us on at once." With that, Jellal turned and began walking off into the woods. "Let's go," he called back to them. "Nirvana is this way."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The walk to Nirvana was very quiet and tense; Natsu, Jellal, and Erza were keeping their senses peeled for any sign of Cobra or another of the Oracion Seis following them, Hibiki was still using Archive to try and find information on Nirvana, and Lucy and Wendy were making sure the Blue Pegasus wizard didn't trip over a tree root while walking. "Where's Gray? And the other Blue Pegasus members?" Erza asked quietly.

Natsu shrugged. "Popsicle's probably still fighting that Racer guy."

"I don't know where Ren and Eve are," Hibiki said. "They might have gotten cornered by some enemies. And Ichiya vanished a while ago."

"I hope they're okay," Lucy said worriedly. "All the Lamia Scale members went off somewhere a while ago; do you think that they could've been found by one of the Oracion Seis?"

As Erza was about to reply, Jellal and Natsu froze. The Dragon Slayer and Heavenly Body Mage turned around at the same time, both men snarling in anger. Natsu leaped behind them and Jellal followed; in a few moments, with a short scuffle, Jellal and Natsu heaved a very familiar figure over to the rest of the group.

"Cobra!" Erza growled, snatching a sword out of thin air. "So I was right."

Cobra sneered, but when Jellal let out a growl, sounding similar to Natsu, the Oracion Seis member stopped. "What now, _Fairies?_ " he spat maliciously. "Gonna leave me tied up? Leave me here so I can't fight you for Nirvana?" Natsu picked Cobra up by his jacket and brought his fist back to punch him, but then there was a furious hiss and the large purple snake Cobra always had with him leaped out of the bushes, fangs bared.

Natsu yelped in shock, mouth dropping and eyes bugging out as Jellal, of all people, leaped over the group and tackled the huge snake. Cubellios and Jellal tumbled over each other, the wizard grunting as he tried to pin the snake's head down and prevent Cubellios from biting him. Cubellios was hissing and spitting in rage, writhing in the Master of Death's grip, until Jellal finally lost his patience.

~Settle down!~ Jellal bellowed, unknowingly slipping into a strange language. Cubellios finally stilled as she was overwhelmed with shock; this man was a Speaker? But how? Their audience, even Erza and Cobra, openly gaped in absolute confusion. What had he said? All they'd heard was some hissing.

~A Ssspeaker?~ Cubellios hissed, confusedly. ~I thought that the Art wasss lossst long ago.~

Jellal slowly straightened, wondering what the hell he'd gotten himself into now. ~A Speaker? What is that?~

~Sssomeone who can ssspeak the Ssserpent Tongue!~ Cubellios hissed angrily. ~Most humansss can only hear hissing when we ssspeak; but ages ago, there were magesss who could talk like usss.~

"Jellal...?" Erza called, deciding to cautiously approach, keeping a wary eye on the snake and one hand on her sword. Jellal turned to look at her, looking just as confused as her.

"I... think it's alright, Erza," the blunette said. "Apparently I can speak to all snakes, which is a Lost Magic according to her." Cobra could only look at the Heavenly Body mage in shock, eyes wide.

"Y..you can understand her? You can hear Cubellios?" he rasped.

"Well, I can't read thoughts, human or otherwise, but I can understand what she speaks," Jellal said, shrugging. Cobra only gaped at him, unable to speak or move due to the revelation he'd witnessed. After all, it was not every day you witnessed someone with a Lost Magic practice that ability. (Wendy was an exception; Healing Magic was apparently part of the domains of Sky Dragons. Didn't really make sense but then again this _was_ magic.)

"So what do we do with this guy?" Natsu asked, one lip curling up as he looked at Cobra. He wasn't about to forget that it was _Cobra's fault_ Erza almost died.

Jellal looked at Cobra, then locked gazes with Erza. The two silently communicated for a few minutes, then the blue-haired wizard said, "We'll take him with us. I do not trust you, Cobra," he looked at the man in question, "But I will not give you a chance to harm Fairy Tail again. Get up."

Cobra got to his feet. Part of the Oracion Seis or not, he was very outnumbered. And Jellal Fernandes was a Wizard Saint (even if formerly), which was almost unbelievable due to his young age. And for some reason, he couldn't hear Jellal's thoughts at all. Just...silence, which was unnerving.

He was surrounded by Fairy Tail, none of them relaxing near him. Cubellios curled around his shoulders, hissing quietly to herself. But Cobra was more focused on listening to Jellal and Hibiki's quiet conversation. The Archive Mage looked a little panicked. "Nirvana is... it's unbelievable," he gasped. "It's supposed to be the result of an entire tribe's work, when the world was engulfed in the terrible wars 400 years ago. There are a few notes from well-known scholars that the name 'Nirvana' comes from the tribe's name for peace."

"What was the tribe?" Jellal asked.

"They were called the Nirvits, apparently. But shortly after the wars stopped, there's no mention of the tribe. It's like they vanished from Earthland completely."

"And what did you find out about Nirvana?"

Hibiki grew very solemn. And even Cobra, who had heard a little of Brain's plan for the ancient weapon, found that he didn't precisely want to know what the Blue Pegasus wizard would say next. "Nirvana was made to switch light with darkness. I'm not sure how, but the few ancient texts that survived revealed that there are three different stages to Nirvana's magic. I... couldn't find any details, though."

Jellal shook his head. "The ability to switch darkness and light... no wonder Brain wants to use it so badly. He could convince every single guild in Fiore to attack each other and tear themselves apart. And even those who can't use magic would still fight. I don't think there is any defense against this."

"Look!" Erza said, pointing ahead. There was somebody unconscious on the ground in front of them, but when Erza turned the body over, they discovered it was Erigor the Reaper. "What happened to him?" the redhead asked.

Natsu laughed. "I fought him, of course! Can't believe he's still unconscious, though; I thought he was tougher than that!"

Jellal was looking at Erigor contemplatively, head tilted to the side. Erza raised her eyebrow, and Jellal said, "My clothes are torn, and he looks about the same size as me..." Erza sighed but nodded. Soon the once-feared Reaper was stripped down to his light blue boxers and Jellal moved behind some trees and bushes to change out of the ripped clothes.

"Well, it's a little snug but it'll do for now," Jellal said, adjusting one sleeve. The shirt was still short-sleeved and a deep shade of purple, but the pants were pale gray instead of black. The jacket reached all the way down to his knees and was trimmed in bright yellow, with white bands around his arms near the elbows and two red medal-like ornaments on both sides of his chest. Erza nodded. Jellal looked a lot more in charge now that he wasn't wearing torn and ripped clothes.

Funny, but Jellal had always been their leader, even back in the Tower of Heaven. He'd never proclaimed himself as such, it had just happened. He helped them, protected them however he could, and did his best to reassure them all. He _cared_ for them, genuinely.

"How far is it to Nirvana from here?" Natsu asked, eyes scanning the trees for anything out of place.

Jellal gave a small, mischievous smile. "It's where the tree glows silver." Then he started walking again, leaving the young Dragon Slayer gaping in disbelief.

"What is that supposed to mean?! Jellal!"

 **You know, I never understood why Hibiki kept his knowledge of Nirvana from the group. He knew more of what they were facing than anyone else, so why did he just keep silent? So in this AU, Hibiki had no knowledge of Nirvana from Master Bob.**

 **I hope you guys like this chapter! Don't forget to send this story some love!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Well, it seems that the issue with my computer has been fixed for now, so I can now update from home instead of going to the library every time I want to do something on this site.**

 **For some odd reason, I moved from One Piece to Fairy Tail. Even I don't understand my brain most of the time! How are those anime even connected?!**

 **By the way... those of you who have read 'Death's Mistake' know that every 100 reviews I get I post TWO chapters instead of just one. But that doesn't apply to just that story; it's for EVERY MULTI-CHAPTER STORY I POST! So far, 'A Skylar's Song' is closer to getting a double chapter than any of my other stories. But you're my cute little readers; you know how to remedy that.**

 **Read and Review!**

Chapter Six

The farther they walked into the forest, the more nervous everyone got; the grass and other greenery vanished so suddenly, it was like something had drained the life out of them and the vegetation all crumbled into nothingness. The only sound the group heard (besides Cobra) were their footsteps, oddly loud in the unnatural stillness. Even Natsu didn't dare open his mouth.

And in time, they came across exactly what Jellal had told Natsu: an enormous, majestic-looking tree that glowed as brightly silver as the Moon. The group stopped very quickly except Jellal, who walked right up to the tree's roots. He looked up and seemed to study it, until the Wizard Saint nodded.

"This tree hides great evil from the world."

As if in response, said tree glowed even more brightly.

"You mean... that is what hides...Nirvana?" Lucy whispered. She doubted even Grandpa Crux had seen something so intimidating before! The tree looked beautiful, but the sheer darkness that thing was emitting made her skin crawl! Especially since as a Celestial Spirit Wizard she was more sensitive than most to changes between darkness and light. "Why does it feel so dark?"

"Nirvana was built 400 years ago," Hibiki answered, looking up from the Archive screen. "By a tribe that was neutral in the horrible wars that occurred during that time. From the records I've been able to find, it seems Nirvana was made to switch light and darkness in people's hearts. But shortly after Nirvana was built and the wars stopped, the tribe that built it vanished. After that, Nirvana itself was sealed away. Many archaeologists and historians made theories on where and why it was sealed away."

The whole group felt sick. So that was what the Oracion Seis were planning? The slaughter of every light guild in Fiore?

"Do you know what Brain is planning? Where he's going to use Nirvana first?" Erza asked Cobra sharply. The man shook his head, still gazing at the tree with awestruck eyes. "No... I've never been able to hear Brain's thoughts, and he doesn't share details of his plans with anyone."

"What else have you found out about Nirvana, Hibiki?" Jellal asked, eyes on the Blue Pegasus wizard. "I'd like everyone to know everything we need to know before deciding what to do."

"Once activated, Nirvana has three stages. The first looks like a black pillar of light, and it searches out anyone teetering between darkness and light. Once that happens, they're switched to the opposite of their usual nature. But it only happens to people in between good and evil, and I don't know if they can revert back to their usual self once Nirvana changes them. The second stage is where the the pillar changes from black to white, and as far as I can tell it doesn't really do anything except prepare for the unsealing. The third stage is where it's fully activated."

Everyone, even Cobra, was feeling nervous now. All that power was in the hands of a megalomaniac that wanted to destroy everything good in this world.

"You know," Jellal said, "I've never trusted what history says. After all, it's written by the winners, and the truth can easily become lost or distorted. That's why I feel like Brain might be a bigger threat than the Black Wizard Zeref ever was."

"What?!" everyone yelled. "But Zeref's done so many horrible things!" Erza shouted.

"So have I," Jellal said. "I destroyed the Magic Council, I made them fire an Etherion blast. I killed Simon and tried to kill you and Natsu. And because of that... will the truth in my situation be lost when our deeds are passed into legend? I cannot help but wonder if Zeref had a similar situation happen to him."

Erza looked at Jellal, thinking about what he said. Even if what he wondered was true, though, Zeref was long gone. Only his works, like the Lullaby flute and Deliora and the Tower of Heaven, remained.

"Prepare yourselves," the former Magic Council member said. Jellal placed one palm on the glowing tree, and the light it emitted became as bright as the sun. Then, the tree vanished in a pillar of black light streaked with white, black tendrils writhing and circling in the air. Everyone except Jellal had to brace themselves, arms thrown up in front of their faces protectively.

"Holy..." Natsu gaped. A shiver ran down his spine, and everyone else's, at the sight of Nirvana's unsealing.

"And now it starts," Jellal announced. "The Oracion Seis will be coming here now that Nirvana's location has been revealed."

"Everyone, rest up," Erza commanded. "We need to defeat the Oracion Seis as well as stop Nirvana, so recover as much magic power as you can."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

All in all, the wait was pretty boring as they prepared for the fighting that would be going on soon. Natsu was knocked out by Erza pretty early on, so the others learned not to get too antsy unless they wanted the same thing to happen to them. Jellal continued his silent vigil in front of Nirvana, not having moved an inch since the unsealing began. Erza stood by his side, her scarlet hair whipping violently around her face.

But once the pillar changed from black to white, tensions began to arise in the group as a whole, since they knew that Nirvana (according to the documents Hibiki had found) would soon be unsealed. Natsu woke up and started pacing around the small area once again, eager to get started on beating the Oracion Seis and turn Nirvana into a pile of rubble. Lucy was nervously fiddling with the gold and silver keys on her belt, Hibiki tapped his fingers on his pant leg, and Kinana kept winding around Cobra's shoulders in her own version of nervous pacing. Or maybe she was nervous because she could smell the other Oracion Seis members closing in.

But then Jellal tensed, whipped around and shouted, "Everyone, GET-!"

Before he could finish, the ground seemed to break apart. There were screams and shouts of surprise, and the group suddenly found themselves being separated as something rose up from underneath the ground. "Natsu, grab my hand!" Lucy cried. "Happy! Where are you?!" In the chaos, it was hard for Happy, Carla, and Kinana to grab their respective wizards. (In fact, Happy missed Natsu's vest completely.)

"JELLAL!"

"ERZA!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When his vision cleared, Jellal found himself staring at a brick wall.

Understandably, the blue-haired mage blinked in confusion before registering the pain in his right arm and shoulder. Looking up, he saw that Erza had somehow managed to reach him when Nirvana was unsealed; she gripped Jellal's wrist and a small ledge above them, gritting her teeth with the effort of holding him as well as herself.

"Hold on, Jellal!" Erza called down.

"Kinda hard for me to do anything else!" Jellal yelled snarkily back. Erza, however, ignored him and began to pull herself up. Jellal dug his boots into the cracks and anything else he could find to help drag himself up onto the ledge, hand scrabbling for something to clutch onto. Jellal managed to reach the small ledge first and turned around, reaching out a hand to help the Titania the rest of the way.

The two simply sat and caught their breath for the first few minutes, tired after having to hang from the side of Nirvana for a while. The wind was bitingly cold this high up and was blowing quite fiercely, perhaps stirred up by Nirvana, making their hair fly into their faces and obscure their vision. Jellal brushed his blue locks out of his eyes and started observing Nirvana itself. He felt an excitement in his soul: Nirvana was ancient magic, incomparable to magic of today, built with unknown methods (how did it even turn light into darkness? There had never been another example of such a thing and that was _exciting!_ ) and none of its full capabilities were known. After all, Jellal doubted that all it could do was turn darkness into light, and vice versa; it should be capable of defending itself or attacking if it needed to.

"I hope everyone's all right," Erza said quietly, looking at Nirvana carefully. "It happened so fast and we were all caught so off-guard..."

"Have faith in them, Erza," Jellal said, giving a small smile. "I really doubt Natsu, especially, would allow himself to fail at doing this. He would want to destroy Brain and Nirvana himself, if possible." Even though he didn't remember Natsu and hadn't really talked with him that much since being reawakened by Wendy, Jellal wondered how much of a headache Natsu was for his guild master.

Erza laughed softly. "You're right, Jellal. They're all strong."

"Of course I'm right, I'm always right," the Heavenly Body Mage joked. "But I think we need to get moving; the Oracion Seis are probably up there somewhere, along with our comrades. And I will not leave them to deal even more damage than they already have." Erza nodded in agreement and so the two began a long, treacherous climb.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Miles away, Happy soared through the air while he searched for Natsu and Lucy. He felt really, really bad that he hadn't been able to grab onto Natsu when the ground broke open, and he hoped that they were all right.

But as he looked upon Nirvana, he wondered how they were going to be able to beat this thing. It was a walking city with six legs, so huge that he thought Magnolia might be the same size as Nirvana! And how was he going to find everyone?

A glimpse of blond and pink caught the little blue cat's eye, and Happy turned to one of Nirvana's legs. When he flew down closer to it, he cried out with relief: it was Natsu and Lucy! Along with Gray!

"Happy!" Lucy called, waving to him.

"Lucy! Natsu!" Happy cried. "Are you guys all right?"

"Yeah, little buddy," Natsu said, giving one of his many grins. "I'm glad you're not hurt."

"Well, we might not be hurt but everyone's scattered," Gray noted. "And you guys said that the rest of the Oracion Seis are probably in the city by now? We won't be able to defeat them separated like this; Lyon, Sherry, and I had a hard time with the three of us taking on Racer."

"Right, and we can't communicate with Jellal and Erza anymore..." Lucy said worriedly, making Gray choke on air.

"What do you mean, Jellal?!" Gray yelled. Lucy and Natsu stared blankly at the Ice-Make mage until they remembered that Gray hadn't been with them when Jellal had reappeared; he'd already been fighting Racer at that point and Natsu hadn't encountered his rival after that.

Lucy quickly explained what had been going on and everything they had found out about Nirvana to the stripper while Natsu sniffed the air for any sign of their friends. He thought he'd smelled Jellal and Erza but he couldn't be sure because of the wind. "We need to get moving," the pink-haired Dragon Slayer said. Lucy and Gray fell silent and turned questioning eyes onto their guild mate. "After all, everyone else is going up there to stop Brain and Nirvana. I don't wanna be left out of the action." Lucy sighed; of course Natsu would want to jump directly into the fighting.

Natsu started sprinting up their "leg" of Nirvana, leaving Gray and Lucy no choice but to run after their crazy friend with Happy following in the air.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Jellal and Erza stood together after their really, _really_ long climb. But now that they managed to make it up to the top, Erza was wondering if it had been the smartest decision they'd made. From the looks of it, there was an entire _city_ on Nirvana for some reason (perhaps the tribe that built Nirvana 400 years ago felt homesick?), but it was nothing but ruins now, crumbling and decayed from the passage of time. Perhaps there had been beauty in the architecture once, Erza thought, but it had been twisted somehow. And the wind howling through the holes of the buildings and through the streets did nothing to lower the creepiness level.

Jellal narrowed his eyes as he observed the buildings and streets around them. "Something terrible happened here..." he said. Erza looked at him. "I can sense Death... so much of it, fueled by anger, hatred, envy...even now, their pain screams out to those that might hear..." He shuddered, the Deathly Hallows mark pulsing softly. "It's a good thing we're planning on destroying this place."

Before the red-haired Titania could respond, both of them felt the touch of telepathy on their minds. Hibiki's voice rang out, _'Everyone, someone, respond! Is everyone all right?!'_

"Hibiki!" Erza cried out, surprised. She hadn't known that the Blue Pegasus member had telepathy magic like Warren.

 _'Erza!'_ Hibiki sounded relieved. _'At least your safe. Anyone else?'_

 _'We're here!'_ Natsu's voice yelled. _'Me, Gray, Happy, and Lucy!'_

 _'Man!'_ Obviously Ichiya, unless Elfman decided to join the coalition while no one noticed.

 _'Me and Carla are fine,'_ Wendy's young voice chimed in. _'I can't believe how massive Nirvana is...'_

Jura's deep, powerful voice spoke up, followed shortly by an unfamiliar one. _'This is Jura; my battle against the Oracion Seis member known as Hoteye was successful, and Richard is now helping us.'_

 _'Because of brotherly love! Oh yeah!'_

Everyone sweatdropped. So that was Hoteye. Or Richard. Whatever his name was.

 _'Cobra here with Cu-er, Kinana. Waiting for whatever the hell we're going to do now.'_ Cobra sounded especially grumpy, probably to hide the nervousness at the fact that the rest of his guild was somewhere on Nirvana. The mage knew exactly what they'd do to him once they found out he was sticking around Jellal and the other light wizards.

Jellal had been silent through the exchange, until Erza elbowed him in the side and hissed, "Don't be rude!" Jellal sighed, rubbing the sore spot. Why did he like this woman again?

"Yes, I'm here as well," Jellal said. "I'm glad everyone wasn't injured during Nirvana's unsealing."

 _'Jellal Fernandes?'_ Jura asked sharply. _'What are you doing here? You were presumed dead after the destruction of the Tower of Heaven.'_ Even though they didn't say anything, those who hadn't known of Jellal's return were listening closely.

"Deja vu, anyone?" Jellal said a little snarkily. "But before I explain... your name seems familiar, Jura."

The Wizard Saint probably raised an eyebrow as he responded. _'I am one of the Ten Wizard Saints, as you were before...'_ No one had to say it aloud, they were all thinking it: before Jellal and Ultear destroyed the Magic Council. _'I also sparred with you quite a bit for training. But, since you didn't recognize my name, does that mean something has happened to your memory?'_

"Yes. All my memories, save for Erza's name, are gone," Jellal admitted.

There was stunned silence from Jura and Ichiya, but Jellal continued before they could say anything. "Cobra asked for our plan: here's my answer. The Oracion Seis besides Cobra, Hoteye, and Racer need to be dealt with. We'll split up and attack in small groups, two or three at most. Hibiki can contact us periodically instead of having a constant telepathic link open that will drain his magic energy while continuing to look into Nirvana and any weaknesses it might have. Cobra, Hoteye, do you have any suggestions on who would be better for certain members to attack?"

Erza stood and watched Jellal take easy, natural command over the coalition that included another Wizard Saint; Jura could easily assume command due to experience, power, and leadership skills, yet he chose not to. Jellal was smart, asking for others' opinions when he didn't have enough experience or information, and he would use that information to the fullest extent.

 _'Midnight's the real dangerous one, besides Brain'_ Cobra said. _'Me and Hoteye should take him on. Brain will be at the throne, at the top of the tallest structure here. Your strongest wizards should go face him. Other than that, it doesn't really matter.'_

"What do you think, Erza?" Jellal asked her. She knew her teammates strengths and weaknesses better than he did, and she was good at assessing others' skills even if they just started working together.

After thinking it over for a few minutes, Erza said, "Natsu, Gray, and Lucy: head over to the throne and find out if Brain really is there. Jellal and I will head over in that direction to give you backup if you should need it. And I agree that Cobra and Hoteye should deal with Midnight. Everyone else should keep an eye out for Angel."

 _'Alright,'_ Hibiki said. _'I'll contact the group every 10 minutes, unless something drastic comes up. Make sure to let us know if anything changes. Good luck, everyone!'_

With that, their telepathic connection cut off as everyone began working towards completing their new plan.

 **Well, I am exhausted. But things are finally moving forward! After this arc is when things get a little more AU, and I can't wait.**

 **No one's asked about parings yet; Jerza of course is the main one, but there will be Nalu as well. I don't mind Lisanna, I think she's a little annoying, especially her voice in the English Dub, but I don't think she and Natsu would really work out as a paring. But romance isn't the main focus of this story, so nothing more than kissing. Heck, I've never had my first kiss yet! I would have no idea how to write anything more than that!**

 **I'm glad you guys are still hanging in there, and I hope you guys give me some reviews!**


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